LA Travelogue Day

Tuesday 3/6: Maia's first plane ride went as well as could be expected, and she was easily tied for least annoying baby on the plane. She slept for about 2 of the 5 hours in the flight. I had to watch Wonder Woman soundlessly on two other peoples' screens and decided that that movie looks dumb as hell. In LA, we got our rental car and drove through LA traffic to Topanga Canyon. We gave Maia lunch in the State Park and then did some grocery shopping while waiting for our AirBnB check-in. Around 4, we arrived at our two-room cabin, guarded by two big friendly dogs and up an incredibly steep driveway at the end of long, winding Puerto Rico-like roads. We made fish tacos for dinner and then the women conked out around 6 PM.

Wednesday 3/7: We had this day to ourselves so we did a morning hike at Corral Canyon in Malibu and walked along the beach a bit. We had lunch at Fish Grill where everyone was Jewish but us, and then headed back for naptime. In the evening, we met up with the Edwardses who were staying just up the road (within walking distance) and then drove down the canyon to Woodland Hills for dinner at The Stand. Staying in Topanga was great for the ceremony itself, but the town really had nothing convenient in terms of modern amenities and all of its restaurants closed before dinner time.

Thursday 3/8: On Thursday, we ran errands for the soon-to-be-wed, including trips to Costco for beer, Target for sodas, and Michael's for artsy garbage. In the evening, we went to the Rehearsal Dinner at a Maggiano's which glowed like a radioactive tumour on an otherwise creepy, abandoned mall.

Friday 3/9: Rebecca was doing wedding prep all day so I had Daddy Day Care in session, taking Maia for walks around the neighbourhood while improving my calf muscles on the hills. The public ceremony followed a private one for family (that I did not attend) and was very well-done. I enjoyed Mike and Annie's vows and the pleasant weather for the outdoor portions. I had to leave the dinner table do a little Maia wrangling to keep spirits up, but what little food I got was pretty good. Rebecca and Mike's brother gave toasts. In lieu of a first dance, Mike and Annie did a first performance with voice and steel pans backed by a little combo.

Saturday 3/10: Saturday was a quiet recovery day. We had a post-wedding pizza lunch at the Original Pizza Cookery with the couple and other out-of-towners because the newly wedded couple probably felt guilty about making us fly in from the better coast and wanted to make sure we had plenty of events. In the evening, we trekked to the Edwardses' house and had a dinner consisting of everyone's leftovers.

Sunday 3/11: Rebecca got sick on Saturday night, so we spent Sunday trolling through Woodland Hills for a non-sketchy Urgent Care that was also open on Sundays and accepted our insurance. We had a functional meal at Panera and took it easy. I also walked 5 cumulative miles on the Topanga hills with Maia while Rebecca napped.

Monday 3/12: Our trip home started with a wake-up call at 3 AM which sucked but also helped us get back on Eastern time. LAX security took us 22 minutes to get through and the flight home was breezy and easy. Thanks jet stream!